Utica to host 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships

UTICA, N.Y. — The Utica University Nexus Center and the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium will host next year’s World Lacrosse Box Championships.

The sixth men’s and first women’s tournaments will take place from Sept. 13-22, 2024, bringing up to 30 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams to the area to compete.

Mohawk Valley Garden and Oneida County, with support from World Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse, will jointly host the tournament. Robert Esche, president of Mohawk Valley Garden, heads the Utica 2024 Organizing Committee.

“It is an incredible honor to host the World Lacrosse Box Championships in Utica,” Esche said. “We are excited to showcase our facilities and all Utica has to offer. Hosting the men’s and women’s championships simultaneously will create an unprecedented atmosphere in the Adirondack Bank Center and the Utica University Nexus Center.”

The Nexus Center, with three playing surfaces, will serve as the main tournament hub. The connecting Adirondack Bank Center will also host a full slate of games including the opening night and gold-medal matches.

“We are happy to be hosting the World Lacrosse Box Championships in Oneida County next fall,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said. “The investments the county has made in the Adirondack Bank Center and the Utica University Nexus Center continue to draw premier events to our region.”

Citing Utica’s location close to Canada, Haudenosaunee lands, and several major cities, World Lacrosse CEO Jim Scherr said the organization is excited to hold the tournament in the cultural home of lacrosse and a key region for box lacrosse.

“We very much look forward to the first world championship in women’s box lacrosse, which brings us to a fully equitable slate of events across genders, and we are thrilled with how capable and eager the organizers are to host both championships.”

The event dates back to 2003. The Onondaga Nation hosted the event in Syracuse in 2015, one of the most successful events in terms of attendance and revenue.

Utica was also just announced as the host city for the April 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships.

Utica was also just announced as the host city for the next edition of the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship, which will also take place at the Adirondack Bank Center and Nexus Center in April 2024.